The Art of the Now-Next-Later Roadmap

Traditional roadmaps with specific dates for every feature are a lie. They set false expectations and turn your product team into a feature factory. The "Now-Next-Later" framework offers a better way, focusing on horizons of uncertainty rather than calendar dates.

The Problem with Dates

When you put a date on a roadmap (e.g., "Feature X in Q3"), stakeholders treat it as a promise. But software development is inherently uncertain. Discovery happens, priorities shift, and technical complexities emerge.

Date-driven roadmaps force teams to cut corners to meet arbitrary deadlines, resulting in technical debt, burnout, and poor quality. They also lock you into a plan that might become irrelevant if the market changes.

Enter Now-Next-Later

This framework divides your roadmap into three time horizons, each with a different level of granularity and certainty. It communicates priority without promising delivery dates.

Why It Works

The beauty of this framework is its flexibility. Items in "Later" can be dropped if strategy changes. Items in "Next" can be swapped if a more urgent problem arises. Only "Now" is locked in.

It shifts the conversation with stakeholders from "When will I get this feature?" to "What is the most important problem to solve next?" It builds trust through transparency about uncertainty, rather than false precision.